Our Story

Frontier Ventures has a long history of serving the global body of Christ at the edges of Frontier Mission. First as the U.S. Center for World Mission, and rebranded in 2015 as Frontier Ventures, we are a movement that catalyzes movements worldwide through creative, high impact strategies among the least reached for fullness of life in God for all peoples. Our five decades of mission started with Dr. Ralph Winter and continues to dream, instill hope, and step out in faith to see the reconciliation of all things in Christ.

Frontier Ventures weaves together spiritual formation, innovation, and missiology in community with global leaders at the edges of mission. Such collaboration for the sake of the gospel nurtures new ways for least reached peoples to experience full life in Christ.

Since its inception in 1976, Frontier Ventures has served alongside pioneering leaders serving the least reached peoples of the earth.

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1969

William Carey Library Publishers Is Established

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1974

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Is Established

Dr. Ralph D. Winter gives a watershed speech at the Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization, highlighting the reality of thousands of distinct people groups who were cut off from any forms of traditional evangelistic outreach. His speech helped to catalyze the modern frontier mission movement. Winter clearly showed that the call of Jesus to disciple all peoples (ethne) was far from complete and that a new form of cross cultural evangelism was essential to completing the task of world evangelization.

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1976

U.S. Center for World Mission Is Established

Dr. Ralph D. Winter purchased a 17-acre campus in Pasadena, CA in order to “awaken 1 million evangelicals” to the plight of these “hidden peoples.” The exciting historical saga that ensued has been recorded in the book I Will Do A New Thing by Roberta Winter.

Over the years that followed, the campus became a kind of germinating environment for new “prototypes, experiments, and movements” related to the frontiers. It was called the largest single property in the world dedicated to the cause of the unreached peoples, drawing people from a variety of evangelical denominations.

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1977

William Carey International University Is Established

William Carey International University was established with a vision to train proven leaders to get at the roots of the human problems and to enable them to do so while remaining in their local contexts. The university became a place to see mission and international development come together.

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1979

Mission Frontiers Is Established

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1984

International Journal for Frontier Missiology Is Established

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1985

International Society of Frontier Missiology Is Established

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1988

The Historic Pasadena Campus Is Paid Off

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1990

Frontier Mission Fellowship Is Established

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2001

Roberta Winter Institute Is Established

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2013

The Ralph D. Winter Launch Lab Is Envisioned

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2014

The Ralph D. Winter Research Center Is Envisioned

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2015

Frontier Ventures was Established

The U.S. Center for World Mission and the Frontier Mission Fellowship were joined together again as one entity, known today as Frontier Ventures. The Pasadena based campus became known as The Venture Center.

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Our Founders

Dr. Ralph & Roberta Winter

Ralph and Roberta Winter were humble giants of their time. Because of their faith, vision, and perseverance, by God's grace, many people came to join their own gifts, talents, and resources to make the dream a reality.

Frontier Ventures exists today because of their sacrifices. Roberta Winter captured the trials, tests, and triumphs of those early days in her book I Will Do a New Thing.